Blue Ridge Mtn's of VA once again provide their bounty!

[Yankee Bill]

Hi Folks,

I was a member on the "old board" but haven't posted on this "new" board. I've still been hunting with my Henry Ball LE. Savage 10 ML-II, just haven't been active on the forums for a while. Anyhow, I just got back from my annual trip to Hunting Camp in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of Southwestern VA. where I got the SML itch going again and thought I'd share some of the hunt and a couple of pics.

I previously had my gun set-up for some longer range shooting using 44 gr. 4759/ 275 gr. Parker B.E.'s due to some fields and Farmland I used to hunt. But with me no longer having access to that property, combined with the fact that 4759 has been discontinued, I decided to go back to basics this year and set up for shorter range using 43 gr. 5744 / 300 gr. XTP's.

My shot opportunities in the area's I hunt in the Mountains are mostly at more typical Bow hunting ranges, with 100 yds. being a long shot. And while the Parker B.E.'s performed well there I just don't see the need for the Premium bullets at these shorter ranges when the good ole' XTP's still "lay 'em on the ground" like the Hammer of Thor. I was able to take 3 deer this trip, a Doe, 3 pt. and decent 7 pt. and the XTP's performed flawlessly on all. The Doe was a 25 yd. broadside bang/flop Heart shot. The 3 pt. was 70 yds. quartering away, enter behind last rib on near side, exited behind offside shoulder, ran about 25 yds. The 7 pt. was running broadside at about 45 yds., I pulled the shot and hit him high, in the spine, just behind the shoulder, but he was dead when he hit the ground so I was thankful for that. I didn't take any pics of the 3 pt. or Doe, but here are a couple of the 7 pt.



All loaded up and ready for the trip back to the Cabin

YB

[rambler]

No pic...no pic....

[Yankee Bill]

Nov 18, 2015 15:40:02 GMT -5 rambler said:

No pic...no pic....

Here ya go rambler. Sorry about the delay, I'm not the most 'puter savvy guy around

[Deleted]

Great looking seven point, congrats!

[rangeball]

Nice!

[Yankee Bill]

Nov 18, 2015 15:58:06 GMT -5 @78riverrat said:

Great looking seven point, congrats!

Thanks.

[schunter]

You had a great trip. Congrats!

[rambler]

Nov 18, 2015 15:54:35 GMT -5 Yankee Bill said:

Nov 18, 2015 15:40:02 GMT -5 rambler said:

No pic...no pic....

Here ya go rambler. Sorry about the delay, I'm not the most 'puter savvy guy around

Nice job and very productive hunt.  

[Yankee Bill]

Thanks guys! It was a great trip. This was my 26th year in the same camp and hunting with several guys for the same amount of time. While I still enjoy "gettin' after 'em", it seems the older I get I enjoy the comradery in camp once the guns are safely put away and some of the locally produced "Nectar of the mountains" starts flowing just as much LOL!

YB

[jims]

Nice write up.

[7mmfreak]

Nice deer. I keep trying to draw a Radford hunt but it hasn't worked out in half a decade.

[Yankee Bill]

Nov 18, 2015 19:27:37 GMT -5 7mmfreak said:

Nice deer. I keep trying to draw a Radford hunt but it hasn't worked out in half a decade.

Know what ya mean! One of the guys I hunt with finally got drawn but wasn't able to make the hunt
due to prior commitments.

YB

[smokepolehall]

Triple congrats to you n thats a real fine 7 pt

[BuckDoeHunter]

Congrats! Nice Buck!

[Yankee Bill]

Thanks again guys, appreciate the comments.
YB

[deadeer]

Congrats. Hard to believe THAT load could seal the deal around here nowadays! Lol. So much has gone to super duper everything, its very nice to see a stndard hunting setup in the limelight. Lol. Way to go!

[Yankee Bill]

Thanks dd. Yeah I agree, it seems that guns that don't shoot 2" groups @ 300 yds. and weigh 14lbs. are in the minority now. I'm all for the guys who have a need for them using them, but I don't have the need for one.

I really enjoy eating and processing my own venison, so I prefer loads that will allow me to "eat as close to the hole as possible", as the saying goes.

I was watching a video of a couple deer shot @ <75 yds. with Parker BE's being pushed at somewhere north of 3000 fps, looked like those deer had stepped on a IED.

Guess that's ok if you want to shoot your deer and grind your burger meat all in one step, but its not my cup of tea.

YB

[1coyotemaster]

Bill-that's a dandy buck and it shows that the old XTP will do the job as it's done hundreds of times. Nice write up too.

[sw]

Nice story. That load still works well obviously. Quite a 7-pt!

[Yankee Bill]

Nov 24, 2015 7:47:35 GMT -5 1coyotemaster said:

Bill-that's a dandy buck and it shows that the old XTP will do the job as it's done hundreds of times. Nice write up too.

Thanks Tim, he's a decent buck for that area. I do see bigger ones than him every year, but unfortunately they're usually in the bed of someone else's truck at the time The locals that have access to the farmlands surrounding the mountains I hunt take some real bruisers.

YB

[Yankee Bill]

Nov 24, 2015 8:21:35 GMT -5 sw said:

Nice story. That load still works well obviously. Quite a 7-pt!

Thanks SW. I haven't used that load since the early days when I bought my HB gun, when they first came out. I almost forgot just how effective it was at these ranges.

YB

[sw]

When someone tells me their 10ML/10ML-2 won't shoot, I make sure the barrel isn't overly fouled, that the ventliner is not too large, and use 42g 5744, Win 209, HPH12, 300 XTP. If it won't shoot with that, it won't shoot. Something's seriously wrong. I may be wrong but believe this is the load Henry Ball used initially.
For those who are not aware, for white tail deer use the non- mag version (the box bullet # ends in 0). The mag version, 300 XTP MAG bullet # ends in 5. I think they're less accurate (likely don't obturate as well) and make a 0.452" hole in and out of the deer.

[Yankee Bill]

Nov 24, 2015 19:31:52 GMT -5 sw said:

When someone tells me their 10ML/10ML-2 won't shoot, I make sure the barrel isn't overly fouled, that the ventliner is not too large, and use 42g 5744, Win 209, HPH12, 300 XTP. If it won't shoot with that, it won't shoot. Something's seriously wrong. I may be wrong but believe this is the load Henry Ball used initially.
For those who are not aware, for white tail deer use the non- mag version (the box bullet # ends in 0). The mag version, 300 XTP MAG bullet # ends in 5. I think they're less accurate (likely don't obturate as well) and make a 0.452" hole in and out of the deer.

That's some excellent info to point out SW. The only mod I've made to my HB gun was to have Rick Bibby (RIP Buddy) do his bushing mod to a couple of Savage BP's for me (I hated messing with those dang ventliners), and it will easily shoot 1"-1.25" groups @ 100 yds. with these loads. I still love this gun and will continue to use it, but it's time to add something a little lighter in weight to the stable for my mountain hunting trips.

YB